


Slytherin's Heir and the Prisoner of Azkaban

by CrashDevil (cjdevlin19)



Series: Slytherin's Heir series [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-18 09:10:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14849930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjdevlin19/pseuds/CrashDevil
Summary: Calidara Nefzen is a pure-blood witch, daughter of a 'dead' Dark wizard and a witch rotting away in Azkaban. When something terrible happens to the people who've loved her longer than anyone else, what will she do? Who will she turn to for support?~~~"Quiet!" Professor R.J. Lupin had finally awoken, and there was a soft crackling and the man's face was illuminated by a handful of flames. "Stay where you are." He stood and moved for the door, but it slid open before he reached it and the flames shone on a figure as tall as the ceiling, wearing a long black cloak. Its face was hidden in its hood, but something told her it wouldn't be pretty. And then the thing beneath the hood drew a long, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. An intense cold swept over them all, so cold that Callie felt like her lungs froze. She couldn't breathe and her eyes rolled in her head and she couldn't see. She felt like she was drowning in a frozen lake she was being dragged deeper into the darkness and somewhere down in the dark she heard her voice saying 'If the Nefzens hadn't found me, I shudder to think where I might've ended up'.





	1. Back to School

Calidara Nefzen tried, desperately, not to be bored over her Summer holidays. Her adoptive parents both worked at a local hospital, so they weren't able to leave to take her on holiday like her friends and schoolmates. She was left to wander her townhouse, alone, most days. She finished her Summer homework within the first three weeks, after that she turned to the telly for distraction, but that got boring, too. She wrote letters to her friends, Fred and George Weasley, who informed her that they were going on holiday to Egypt to see their brother, Bill. She didn't write them again, to save her owl, Athena, a flight to Africa.

Callie only wrote her cousin, Draco, once. She was still upset at him for supporting the idea of eradication all Muggle-born witches and wizards from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Draco felt that, as a Malfoy, his pure-blood status made him better than those who were half-blood or 'worse'. Callie's parents were Muggles, she'd grown up in the Muggle world, so she hadn't known anything about magic until the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts showed up at the townhouse. So, Calidara Malfoy didn't act like a Malfoy, and Draco hated that about her.

She hated that he was an elitist snob, made nasty by his upbringing. She also hated that the only other  _good_  Malfoy was rotting in the wizard prison, Azkaban, for using one of the Unforgivable Curses on Draco's father, Lucius. She hated Lucius. But more than anything, she hated that her father was Lord Voldemort, a Dark wizard bent on what amounted to world domination. Even now, 13 years after his defeat, Voldemort was still finding ways to try and regain his power. Two years ago, it was unicorn blood and the Philosopher's Stone. Last year had been a diary that allowed him to possess an eleven year old girl and use her to set a giant serpent loose on the Muggle-born students.

Callie spent her Summer holidays wondering what scheme to come back to power her father would use next, and how much assistance her Uncle Lucius would provide him. She'd considered, several times, not going back to school, but that's where her friends were, and her crappy blood family, and she really couldn't imagine not finishing her schooling.

Her Summer boredom came to a head when she decided to dye her white-blond hair a light purple at the first of August. She took a picture of herself, developed it in wizarding method, and sent it to the Weasley home, knowing her friends wouldn't receive it until they got back from Egypt.

By the last week of August, Callie had gotten all of her books and supplies for Third year, but the Weasley twins wrote her to tell her that they were going to be in London to get  _their_  supplies on the last day of August and they were wanting to see her.

Callie, who had a bit of a crush on the older twin, Fred, wouldn't dare miss a chance to hang out together outside of school where separate school Houses and separate school years made it difficult to maintain contact. So, she was there, on Diagon Alley, when they showed up with her friend Harry Potter in tow.

"Harry! Hermione!" She exclaimed as she entered the Leaky Cauldron. They smiled at her, as did Ron Weasley, which was a new experience. Until the last two weeks of their Second year at Hogwarts, Ron had been convinced Callie was evil, like her father. It took her saving his life from an acromantula and helping save his sister, Ginny, from Voldemort for him to realize she was a good person.

"Callie, my pally." Fred appeared from the stairs and jumped at her to hug her.

"Redhead Fred!"

"Why the rhyming?" Ron asked. 

Callie and Fred both shrugged. "It's just a thing we do sometimes." Callie answered.

"Though more often, lately. She wrote an entire paragraph of rhyming couplets in her last letter." Fred said, smiling.

"The one with the picture?" George asked, knowingly.

Callie blushed as Fred ran his hand over her purple fishtail braid. "Looks better in person." said Fred.

"Thanks. I thought it'd look good. Something to set me apart from the other Slytherins."

"Oh, you don't need purple hair for that." said Ron.

"Yeah, you've got a soul, that's more than enough to set you apart." said Harry, smiling.

"Oh, come on. The other Slytherins aren't soulless, they're just... nasty." She defended.

"No, I'm pretty sure that some of them are soulless." George said. "Like, Draco for instance."

Callie opened her mouth to argue, but shook her head. "If anyone were, it'd be him."

~~

Callie found Harry, Hermione and Ron in a compartment with a sleeping gentleman who looked exhausted and generally worse for the wear than any other adult she'd ever seen. Harry waved her into the compartment, then closed the door.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron asked.

"Professor R.J. Lupin." whispered Hermione immediately.

"How d'you know that?"

"It's on his case." Callie answered pointing at the luggage rack. Ron looked up to see the case with flaking gold letters that said ' _Professor R.J. Lupin_ '.

"Wonder what he teaches?" Ron asked.

"That's obvious. There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione whispered.

"Praying he's a better teacher than Lockhart." Callie whispered.

"One of those bloody pixies would've been a better teacher than Lockhart." Ron responded, before looking at Professor Lupin's pallid frame. "I hope he's up to it. He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway... what were you going to tell us?" He turned to Harry.

Harry gave a look to R.J. Lupin's sleeping body, then started an explanation of Sirius Black, follower of Voldemort and insane killer of Muggles and wizards alike had escaped Azkaban to kill him. When he finished his explanation, Ron looked completely shocked and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. Callie shook her head at him. "How can you be so nonchalant about this?"

"Harry, you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry-" Hermione started.

"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds  _me_."

"How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" said Ron, shakily. "No one knows how he got out of Azkaban, no one's ever done it before, and he was a top-security prisoner, too."

"Maybe he can help my mum escape." said Callie, trying to find a bit of silver lining in Sirius Black's escape. The other three just looked at her like they were trying to determine if she was serious or not. She shrugged it off and they went on to talking about Hogsmeade. Fred and George had told her all about Hogsmeade and they'd even offered to sneak her out of the castle to see it, but she waited. She waited for her parents to sign the permission slip so she could go legally. Harry revealed that his Uncle hadn't signed his permission form, so they'd be going without him. The compartment erupted in groans of pity and upset.

They tried to come up with solutions but there weren't any good ones and Harry resigned himself to staying at the castle. With Sirius Black looking for him, he'd be safer there, anyway. It was a couple hours later that Ron started complaining of hunger and then the train began to slow. "We can't be there, yet." Hermione said, checking her watch.

"So, why're we stopping?" Callie asked as Harry stood, opening the door to look out into the corridor. Suddenly, the lamps all over the train went out and they were plunged into complete darkness.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"Ouch! Ron, that was my foot!" Hermione gasped.

They sat and waited in the dark for a few minutes before other students started to seek them out to find if they knew what was happening. It wasn't long before Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom had been crammed into the compartment with them, everyone fumbling over each other and whining and apologizing and then, a hoarse voice said, "Quiet!" Professor R.J. Lupin had finally awoken, and there was a soft crackling and the man's face was illuminated by a handful of flames. "Stay where you are." He said as he stood and moved for the door, but it slid open before he reached it and the flames in his hand shone on a figure as tall as the ceiling, wearing a long black cloak. Its face was hidden in its hood, but something told her it wouldn't be too pretty.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. An intense cold swept over them all, so cold that Callie felt like her lungs had frozen. She couldn't breathe, and then her eyes rolled up in her head and she couldn't see. Darkness enveloped her and her body went stock still. She felt like she was drowning in a frozen lake with water roaring and wooshing in her ears and she was being dragged deeper into the darkness and somewhere down in the dark she heard  _her_ voice saying 'If the Nefzens hadn't found me, I shudder to think where I might've ended up'. There was so much pain in the words, but they were definitely being spoken by her. 

As she was falling into the darkness, a white fog around her... and then she was being shaken. "Calidara!" Neville's voice struck her and her eyes were finally able to open. She and Harry were on the floor of the compartment, everyone else standing over them. Callie felt sick and weak, and as she pushed her hair out of her face she could feel that she had a sheen of cold sweat covering her face. Neville helped her into her seat as Hermione and Ron helped Harry into his. 

"Are you guys okay?" Ron asked, his eyes flicking back and forth between them.

"Yeah. What happened? Where's that-that thing? Who screamed?" Harry asked.

"No one screamed." said Ron.

Harry was certain he'd heard screaming, but Callie was still stuck in the words she'd heard spoken. A loud snap made everyone jump and turn to Professor Lupin, who was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces. He gave the two largest pieces to Harry and Calidara. "Here. Eat it. It'll help."

Harry didn't eat it, but Callie bit a chunk off and let it melt in her mouth. She immediately started to feel better, warmth returning to her extremities and radiating toward her core. "What was that thing?" Harry asked.

"A dementor. One of the dementors of Azkaban. Eat." Lupin repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me." 

Hermione asked if they were okay and they both expressed confusion at what had happened. "I thought you guys were havin' a fit or somethin'. You both went sort of rigid and fell out of your seats and started twitching-"

Callie sort of drowned out their talking as she tried to think of what could cause a seizure like that.  _'Grand mal seizure has two phases, Callie.'_ Dr. Nefzen coached in her head.  _'Tonic phase and clonic phase. Tonic phase is the shortest phase, where loss of consciousness occurs, and then all the muscles suddenly contract and make you fall to the floor. Clonic phase is where the muscles start rhythmic contractions, flexing and relaxing. What causes it, Callie?'_  "Hypoglycemia." Callie whispered, making everyone look at her as she interrupted them. "Sorry. Uh, Harry, eat the chocolate. It really does help." She said, taking another bite of her chocolate.

Harry looked down at the chocolate in his hand and took a bite as Professor Lupin reentered the compartment. "We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you all right, Harry?" 

Harry nodded, embarrassed. "Fine." He muttered.

"And you, Calidara?" Lupin turned his focus.

"Yes, sir. Much better, thanks to you." They moved on in silence and when the train came to a stop in Hogsmeade Station, everyone rushed to get off. The First years were rounded up by Hagrid and sent into the boats and they were put into hundreds of carriages pulled by ugly-looking skeleton-like horse creatures. Callie took the carriage with Professor Lupin and sat back. "So, Professor Lupin, how did you know who I am, sir?"

"Ah, I had Headmaster Dumbledore fill me in on all students of note. The three students who found and permanently closed the Chamber of Secrets. The four students who stopped Lord Voldemort getting his hands on a Philosopher's Stone." 

Callie looked over at him, surprised. He'd said 'Voldemort'. Only Harry, Dumbledore and her called him by his name. Also... "Four? What do mean? They were only three students went down there." 

"It takes a very special sort of person to perform an extraordinary act, or a set of extraordinary acts, and allow no credit to be given them." Lupin smiled. "Albus told me all about you. Just like your mother, he says. A thorn in the side of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"The what?"

"The fanatical pure-bloods."

Callie nodded. "Right. The Directory. Draco's mentioned it. It's absolutely ridiculous."

"You're just like your mother. She hated being on that list."

Callie smiled. "Did you know her?"

"I knew her better than I've known any other Slytherin."

"Really? I... I've been learning about her third-hand from my Draco who's been telling me things my Uncle Lucius told him about her."

He nodded. "I wouldn't trust anything Lucius Malfoy has to say about Miranda. They were estranged long before she attacked him in front of the Wizengamot." He leaned forward. "Your mother was a wonderful woman. She stood up to your father, spoke out against him. We knew she had to be cursed when she started to travel with him and do his bidding." 

"Can I... if you don't mind, sometime, can you tell me about her?"

Lupin smiled and nodded. "I'd be delighted." He said as the carriage came to a stop. As they climbed out of the carriage, Draco was standing in Harry's way on the stone steps into the castle. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh, er, no,  _Professor_." Draco responded. As Harry, Hermione, Ron and Professor Lupin walked into the castle, Draco turned to Callie. "Your hair looks ridiculous. I told you it would. Were you there when Potter fainted?" He moved seamlessly from insulting her to teasing Harry.

"I was there, but I didn't see, because I fainted, too. Except it was a seizure, Draco, not a fainting spell. Though I wouldn't expect you to know anything about a dementor-induced hypoglycemic grand mal seizure." She responded, quickly.

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle stared at her blankly for a minute before blinking. "I didn't understand anything you just said. Was it terrible?"

Callie rolled her eyes and headed inside the castle. She couldn't wait to get something to eat. As soon as she made it into the entrance of the Great Hall, Callie heard her name called. Deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor House Minerva McGonagall was standing with Harry and Hermione. "Miss Malfoy, come with me."

Callie sighed and followed her. "Professor, will this take long? I'm starving."

"I won't keep you from your feast for very long, Miss Malfoy. I just need to speak to the three of you in my office." They made it to her office and sat down on either side of her desk. "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train."

Harry turned red and opened his mouth to explain, but the door opened and Madam Pomfrey rushed in. She went between Harry and Callie grumbling about the dementors and calling them both 'delicate' which both children took issue with. McGonagall suggested they spend the night in the hospital wing, but they both piped up immediately to deny that idea. Madam Pomfrey ended on a note of 'They should have some chocolate, at the very least.' "We've already had some." said Harry. "Professor Lupin gave us some. He actually gave some to all of us."

"Feel a million times better, now." Callie said, nodding.

"Are you sure you feel all right?" McGonagall asked, sharply.

"Hungry, for real food, but beyond that..." Callie shrugged.

McGonagall looked at Harry, who nodded vigorously. She sighed and sent them out. They made it back to the Great Hall, sad to see they'd missed the First year students being sorted into their Houses. Callie waved at the Weasley twins as she sat at the end of the Slytherin table and leaned forward to watch as Dumbledore stood up to speak. "Welcome! Welcome! to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

He cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are with us, I must make it plan that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises or even Invisibility Cloaks." Callie knew that was directed at Harry, even if he'd said it blandly to sound like it was a hypothetical. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors." 

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Everyone that was in the train compartment with R.J. Lupin whooped and hollered, but no one else really did, and Callie noticed Professor Snape, her head of House and Potions master and former follower of Voldemort who had been teaching her Occlumency for the past two years, looking at Lupin the way he looked at Harry; with absolute loathing. Callie did the math in her head and realized that if Lupin was at Hogwarts at the same time as her mother, he was also a schoolmate of Severus Snape. She cheered for the man, anyway.

"As to our second new appointment, well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties." Callie stood and applauded for him. It was exactly what he deserved. Draco and his friends glared at her. "Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"

Callie immediately reached out and grabbed a roll in each hand, tearing into one with her teeth. She'd never felt so hungry. It wasn't too long before she was stuffed full of so much food it was painful, but her blood sugar was up and her weakness was gone. She waved at the Weasleys as she left the Great Hall and headed for the Slytherin Common Room, the students around her talking about Harry Potter fainting on the train. Callie rolled her eyes. Of course a bunch of pure-blood wizards wouldn't know anything about a one-off medical condition. Idiots.


	2. Eulogy

Callie had Arithmancy first thing in the morning. Hermione was somehow already there by the time she got to the classroom, even though Callie was certain she'd seen Hermione run off toward the North Tower with Ron and Harry. "Oh, I didn't know you were taking Arithmancy, Callie!" Hermione said, smiling brightly.

"Yeah. Arithmancy, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures." Callie replied with a smile.

"Well, that's great. Slytherin Divination is next period, right?"

Callie shook her head, pulling out her schedule. "Defense Against the Dark Arts next, then Care of Magical Creatures, (can't wait!), Transfiguration, then Potions.  _Tomorrow_ is Divination, Charms and Astronomy." She folded her schedule back up and sighed. "And T.A. duties every day."

"You're still T.A.-ing for Snape? Is that ever going to end?"

"I ask myself that every year." Callie responded, wondering not for the first time when Snape was going to explain himself to her. When will she have learned enough Occlumency to keep her father out of her head? When will she be able to know how Severus Snape, former Death Eater, ended up a teacher at Hogwarts School? "I might end up doing the job 'til I graduate." 

"Well, that sounds terrible."

"I don't disagree." said Callie, chuckling.

~~

Professor Lupin's first lesson was a practical lesson, no book needed. He led the class to the library, where a card catalog was shaking. "In this drawer is a boggart. Who can tell me what a boggart is?"

"A shapeshifting creature that takes the form of whatever the viewer fears most." Callie answered, not bothering to raise her hand. 

"Very right, Miss Malfoy! A boggart will immediately transform, as soon as it is observed, into the observer's worst fear. When I let him out, he will immediately become what each of us fears. This means we've got a tremendous advantage over it. Can anyone tell me what that might be? Vincent Crabbe, care to take a guess?"

"Uh, we could all punch it?" Crabbe guessed, causing a round of laughter.

"Not quite, Mr. Crabbe. A punch wouldn't do much to a boggart. Anyone else?"

"There's so many of us that it won't know where to focus. It'll be confused." Callie answered, again without raising her hand.

"Exactly! It is always best to have company when facing a boggart, because the boggart will sometimes get confused about what it's supposed to be. Now, the charm to defeat a boggart is  _Riddikulus_. Let's do it without wands first.  _Riddikulus!_ " The Slytherins repeated with him. "Good, now who's brave enough to face the boggart first?"

"I'm not afraid. I've got nothing to fear." A voice from behind Callie called out. 

"Gregory Goyle. Brave young man. Now, what is your greatest fear?"

"I'm not afraid of anything." 

"Well then the boggart will move from you to another student, though I've never met someone who was truly without fear." Lupin said, pulling open the drawer and stepping out of the way. He stepped up to Callie as Goyle stared at a large German Shepherd, fear flooding his eyes. "Are you fearless, too, Miss Malfoy?" Professor Lupin asked as Goyle fumbled to get his wand out of his robes.

"No, of course not. My fears are just, you know, less tangible. Fear of failure, fear of abandonment, that sort of thing."

"You'd be amazed what the boggart can manifest. Would you try next?" She nodded as Goyle used the  _Riddikulus_ charm and the German Shepherd became a poodle, balancing on a bouncy ball with a birthday hat on. "Good job, Mr. Goyle! Keep in mind something you think is funny, Miss Malfoy." 

Callie stepped in front of the poodle, her wand in hand, and there was loud  _crack_  and she froze. She was suddenly looking at herself, older by quite a few years. White-blond hair, dark brown eyes, full red lips in a deep snarl that reminded her of her Uncle Lucius' and as her other self raised its wand she could see a large black tattoo on her left forearm. She'd never seen Snape's Dark Mark, or anyone's, but she knew that's what it was. A skull with a snake slithering out of its mouth and in a second she recognized the significance of the jewelry her cousin and uncle gave her two Christmases ago. "Calidara! Focus. Something that you find funny or happy."

She cleared her throat and raised her wand, calling out ' _RIddikulus_!' and the boggart sprouted fire-red hair, her face became freckled and she was wearing a knit sweater with a smile on her face. "She's become a Weasley!" Draco shouted. The boggart moved its attention to Draco as Callie stepped out of the way. It became a werewolf, tall and furry and vicious.

Callie ran her hands over her face. She still felt shaky about her boggart, even if she had enjoyed seeing herself as a Weasley. "Fear of becoming our parents is quite common." 

"My father is not common. My father is evil. I'd be terrible if I didn't fear being like him, right?" She took a deep breath. "But some things are fated, right? Some things aren't in my realm to change."

"Come see me after class. I'd like to speak to you."

"Yes, sir." 

After the boggart had made its way through the entire class, Lupin stepped in, laughed at it as it turned into some sort of ball, and sent the class along to lunch. Callie followed him back to the Defense classroom and took a seat in the front table. Lupin looked at her for a minute, green eyes sparkling as he examined her. "Calidara, you have nothing to worry about. You are so much more like your mother than you could ever be like Voldemort. I see so much of her in you."

"Really?"

"I'm going to let you in on a secret, Calidara. When I was at Hogwarts, I was a bit of a mischief maker, not unlike your friends. My friends used to pick on this one Slytherin boy in our year. This sniveling, greasy boy who was always trying to catch us doing something wrong. He would run to tell on us whenever he had the chance. So, my friends picked on him a bit. When we were in Third year, Miranda came across us while we were picking on him. One of my friends was in the middle of putting the Leg-Locker Curse on him, and she walked into the trophy room. She did the counter-curse, and sent him away. A Seventh year Slytherin Prefect and Head Girl, we thought we were going to be in detention for the rest of our lives." Lupin chuckled. "She warned us from doing it again, but smiled and said it really was a well-done application of the Leg-Locker."

Lupin smiled and sat on the stool next to her. "Your mother was the exception that proved the rule of all Slytherins being elitist, snobbish, cheating nasty people. She was bright and intelligent, powerful and beautiful. I confess, I was left with a bit of a crush on her after that encounter." He sighed, loudly. "Of course, a four-year age difference is a much larger obstacle at thirteen than it is at thirty, but I never thought of her as a Slytherin. Her House was never an obstacle. In fact, we became good friends. When she pulled herself out of the curse which claimed her mind, I was the person she called upon for help. She had no family she could trust, no friends she felt would understand, but she called upon me for assistance getting herself and  _you_ to safety. I helped deliver you when time came. If I'd known her plans when we picked out the Nefzens to care for you... I never would've let her go to the trial."

"You... Professor, you helped my mum deliver me? And she was Head Girl?"

"Calidara, Miranda was very important to me. I knew her very well, and as someone who knew her very well, don't doubt when I say that I recognize her in you. You are quite like her. You'll have to find something else to fear, because you will never be like Voldemort."

Callie smiled, slightly. She had a million other questions now that she knew Lupin had not only  _known_ Miranda Malfoy but been good friends with her. Professor Lupin, however, just stood and gestured to the door. "You'll want to get some lunch, Miss Malfoy. I heard Rubeus Hagrid has something grand planned for your first Care of Magical Creatures class." 

"Okay, Professor. But, um... I'd really like to hear more about my mum. About how she was before Voldemort got control of her."

"Gladly, Miss Malfoy. Unfortunately, it's something we'll have to do in small doses. It's not as though we have all the time in the world. I hear you're quite busy being a teacher's assistant for Severus Snape." He said it with a tinge of acrimony. 

"Yes. Unfortunately, he claimed me as his T.A. at the beginning of my First year and hasn't let me off from it, so... Whenever there's time, of course, Professor Lupin." Callie walked out to Hagrid's hut with Harry, Hermione and Ron excitedly telling them about how Lupin had known her mother. "They were  _really_ close!"

"Close? Or  _close?_ " Ron asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Uh, I don't know if they ever got  _that_  close, but I know he wanted to be. He said he had a crush on her when they were at Hogwarts, and he  _was_ the only one she trusted after she escaped from Voldemort." She smiled. "He's going to tell me about her. I mean, timing will be an issue, but when we have time, I'll be learning about her from a secondary source, someone who really knew her instead of someone who's heard stories. I'm so excited!"

Callie was immediately enamored with the hippogriffs. They were grand and majestic and beautiful and dangerous. Of course, Draco had to ruin everything by being Draco, getting a cut from Buckbeak and blowing it way out of proportion. Callie was in a bad mood by the time she made it to Potions. Snape was in a poorer mood. "Are you in such a poor mood because one of your old school rivals got the job you wanted?" She snapped at him as he glowered.

"How could you-"

"Professor Lupin said his friends were mean to a Slytherin boy. You were at Hogwarts at the same time. You were Slytherin. You obviously hate him. I put 3 and 3 together."

Snape sighed, deeply, and sneered at her. "It is none of your business, Miss Malfoy."

"Oh. Fine. None of my business. Is it ever going to be my business how you-"

"Miss Malfoy, if you can't keep your thoughts to yourself with me, how are you planning to keep your thoughts safe from the Dark Lord?" He growled. 

"What are you talking about?"

"You, Miss Malfoy, are still a completely open book to me." He spat, standing tall over her. "Your infatuation with Fred Weasley, your fascination with your mother's legacy, your fear of becoming like your father, the fact that you despise your cousin and only spend any amount of time with him because you long for family, though that makes you feel guilty because it undermines everything the Nefzens have done for you. If I could gather all of that, which you think you're hiding, without using Legilimency what do you think the Dark Lord would find out?"

Callie sighed, a chilly feeling filling her. "How can- I... I just hate not knowing, Professor. I hate not knowing what's going on, what's gone on. How long until I can do this right?"

Snape shrugged slightly. "I will not tell you anything until you can control your emotions well enough."

"I'm never going to know." She whispered as the other students filed intro the classroom. 

"Stay after today. I have to make a potion for my rival. The majority of the preparation can be done by you."

"So, you'll have me after today  _and_ tonight?" She complained.

"You need the training, Miss Malfoy. Unless you're all right with never knowing." He said, quietly.

~~

Professor Trelawney adored Callie, though she did insist on calling her 'Melanie'. "That's your  _soul's_ name, dear. The name you were given when you were still in the water of life. You understand, don't you, dear?" Professor Trelawney thought Callie was a true seer. "'A bit of the precognition' is what the Scottish witch said, yes? 'A bit' is a bit of an understatement. You've been having bad dreams, lately, haven't you? Yes, of course. I'm so so sorry, Melanie. But... it will work out for the best... in a few years."

Callie was looking forward to the trip to Hogsmeade on Halloween. It was really sustaining her through classes (learning about Animagi in Transfiguration, security spells in Charms and ghouls in Defense) and Occlumency lessons (which she was apparently failing at) and not being able to talk to Lupin because Snape was filling every bit of her free time with homework, potion-making and being his assistant to have that reward coming up. It was even enough to take her mind off of her nightmares most days. 

The nightmares were so recurrent and vivid that she could walk through the images during her waking hours, and she often did involuntarily. Her parents were dying, that was the central theme of the nightmares. She followed them through their nighttime routine until a hooded figured stepped into their house. A green light filled their bedroom and they screamed and then there was nothing. Their eyes blank, their souls gone from their bodies. She moved through the scenes every night, sometimes twice if she could fall back to sleep, but most nights she just got out of bed after waking in a cold sweat and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

She was hoping a bit of chocolate and some butterbeer might help her get to a better state of mind, but she wouldn't know because the day before Halloween, as she sat in Transfiguration, Snape entered and rushed to speak quietly to Professor McGonagall, who gasped and looked directly at Callie, her lips going into a thin line. "Miss Malfoy, please go with Professor Snape." Callie stood, dread filling her. This couldn't have anything to do with her extracurriculars, Snape would never pull her out of another teacher's class. "Take your bag with you, Calidara." McGonagall called. 

_*I'm not coming back, then. Oh, no.*_ "Professor, what's happened? Have I done something-"

"It'll be best coming from the Headmaster." Snape said, with none of his normal cold snap. That just made her feel worse. By the time she made it to the Headmaster's office her stomach was in such tight knots that she thought she might be sick. The look on Albus Dumbledore's face when he saw her made it worse and she had to swallow down a gag. 

"Calidara. I don't quite know how... We've just received word, it had to go through the Ministry of Magic before it got to us... Your parents, Jemma and Edward, they've passed." Dumbledore said, moving to place a hand soothingly on her shoulder.

"What?!" She shouted, pulling away to look at Snape who just nodded, sadly. "No, they can't... I'm going home for Christmas holidays. They're gonna pick me up. I... They can't!" She shouted, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We've gotten you a ticket for the Hogwarts Express. You'll be heading back to London with Severus, now." Dumbledore said, softly. 

"But-"

"We've been told that your mother's best friend, Angela, has set up everything. We'll be there for the funeral, a reading of the wills and I will assist with any packing required. We should leave now."

 

"How? How did they-" She couldn't say the words her throat rebelling against her, clenching around them.

"The Muggle doctors said 'stroke'." Dumbledore answered.

"Both of them?! That's not-"

"Calidara, that's not important, right now. We must go. Let's get your bag." Snape urged, pushing her toward the office entrance.

She packed quickly, almost in a daze. Dr. and Mr. Nefzen had not both suffered a stroke at the same time, of that she was certain. Her mind kept returning to her nightmare, her Mum and Dad lying in bed, a hooded figure entering, raising a wand, green light. She didn't have time to dwell on the fact that she'd never acknowledged a wand in the nightmare before because Snape was grabbing her by the hood of her Muggle jumper and pulling her out of the Slytherin Dorms.

She wasn't able to enjoy the awkward sight of Severus Snape in light denim jeans and a black pullover jumper, her focus being stuck on 'Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't let anyone see you cry.' as they crossed the courtyard, heading for the carriage waiting to take them to Hogsmeade Station. A familiar voice calling her name made her stop. Even in her current state, she couldn't ignore Fred, who rushed up to them.

"You okay, Callie?"

She shook her head. "I have to go home. I have-" She cleared her throat and blinked rapidly for a moment before continuing. "-to go to my parents' funeral."

Fred's face fell in shock. "Are- well, you- I-"

"We really must be going, Miss Malfoy." Snape whispered, loudly.

"I'll be back next week, Fred. We can talk then." Callie turned away from him and rushed for the carriage.

~~

Dr. Angela Daniels was Dr. Jemma Nefzen's best friend since med school, and she nearly suffocated Callie with a hug so tight that she couldn't breathe. She then went into a long explanation of everything that'd been taken care of, which was everything except the words Callie would say at the funeral, if any. Callie decided that, yes, she did want to speak.

It seemed like there were a thousand people in black suits and dresses at the funeral home, mostly hospital staff who looked wrong out of their bright-colored scrubs. When she stood to speak, though, a flask of white-blond hair caught her attention. Standing in the back of the room, wearing all black but still looking out of place because of the opulence of his appearance, was Lucius Malfoy. She cleared her throat and unfolded the piece of paper where she'd written her thoughts.

"My mum used to tell the story of how she found me like it was a miracle straight from the Bible. You've all probably heard it as many times as me. She spent months tryin' to quit smoking. She knew how bad it was, links to lung cancer and all. She'd finally stopped, finally kicked the habit, but one night in early November, she had the worst night of her life in the Emergency Department, so she bummed a fag off one of the nurses and went out to smoke. She went around the side of the hospital so that my dad wouldn't stumble on her smoking. She was about to light it when she heard a noise, a cooing yawn coming from a black bundle. She never smoked that cigarette. Dropped it on the ground and forgot all about it."

Callie wiped at her eyes. "See, Mum couldn't have kids and they were just startin' to consider adoption when she found me. She took it as a sign that I was meant to be theirs. They loved me. They were amazing people who wanted the best for me and always made sure I got it. They taught me that it was more important to be smart than popular, that caring for people might leave you vulnerable, but it will never leave you cold. They taught me that your blood is not your family. Your family is who you choose... If the Nefzens hadn't found me, hadn't chose me, I shudder to think where I might've ended up. They were amazing people and the world is so much darker with them gone." She folded the paper back up, then walked back down to her seat in the front row.

After listening to a half dozen of her parents' coworkers sing their praises, they drove in a long procession to the cemetery, Callie and Snape riding with Angela right behind the second hearse. She tossed a handful of dirt and a single rose on each oak casket, then stepped aside so their friends could do the same.

"Dreadful business. A moving eulogy, though. Quite eloquent for a thirteen year old." Callie turned to her uncle but didn't speak. "You're escorted by your Head of House, I see. Do you plan to be away from Hogwarts for long?"

"What are you doing here, Uncle Lucius?" She asked, coldly.

"Draco told me about this unpleasantness and I realized that, with your caregivers both being only children and their parents all being dead, you would need family to take you in. Unless, of course, you wanted to become a  ward of the government, live in an orphanage with a bunch of... Muggles." Callie looked down. Living in a group home with a bunch of Muggles who wouldn't know anything about her world wasn't really an option. "There's plenty of room at the manor and we  _are_  your only family." 

"Lucius." Snape greeted, stepping up behind Callie.

"Severus. I was just extending an invitation to my niece to come home to Malfoy Manor." 

"That's not my home." Callie whispered. "Your sister made sure I never saw that place."

"Well, we have an opportunity to remedy that injustice." 

"Not for you." She whispered, turning away.

"I'm certain Calidara means to express her gratitude, Lucius." Snape said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Since you're opening your home to her."

"Nonsense. She's a Malfoy. Malfoy Manor is  _her_  home, too." Lucius smiled. "You  _will_ be coming to live with us, won't you?"

"Don't have much choice, do I?" She said, walking away to talk to Angela. "Do you know when I've got to talk to the barrister?"

"Tomorrow. Noon thirty. I can go with you if you want." 

"No. My professor will go with me. I just need to..."

"Who's the gentleman in the tailored suit?"

Callie cleared her throat. "That's my... my uncle."

"Your uncle? You found blood family?"

Callie nodded. "One of my schoolmates is a cousin, actually. That's his father. Anyway, I... can you take me home? I... I might not ever see it again after this and I... I want to sleep at home one more time."

"What about your professor? Will he be coming with us?"

"No. He'll catch a cab. He's deep in conversation with Uncle Lucius."

As Callie lied in her full size bed, staring at the canopy her dad put in when she was seven and wanted to be a princess, she came to the conclusion that Lucius Malfoy was not just a nasty man who had too much money for his own good. Lucius Malfoy, her uncle, was evil just as her mother had warned her. He might not have been the one who killed her parents (though she felt he may have been. How else would he have known about their deaths?) but he definitely capitalized on their deaths quickly to get control of her.

And if he  _did_  kill them, he did it so that he could control her, which meant it was her fault the Nefzens were killed. Her fault, her mother's fault, Lupin's fault, because he helped Miranda pick the Nefzens. Callie fell asleep into dreams of her friends being murdered by the same green light, but she saw these visions for what they were; not premonition but fear.

As she rode to the barrister's office in the back of a cab with Snape, her mind flowed through her conclusions. Lucius had something to do with her parents' deaths, they died because they were in the way and influencing her, therefore anyone influencing her might become a target. Her friends would never be safe if they were her friends.

The lawyer was a nice old man who gave his condolences before moving on. Callie had been left the townhouse and the sum of both life insurance policies, rounding out to a million pounds after taxes. She'd be unable to touch the money until she finished school, but it would be kept in trust until then and the townhouse would be maintained by a company until she could take ownership of it. "So... I'll be able to go home once I'm out of school?"

"Yes. Of course. It's yours as soon as you come of age."

"Good to know."

"So, you go on back to the house and take what you want to take, everything else will be packed by movers and placed in storage."

"Thank you."


	3. Failsafe

Callie and Snape made it back to Hogwarts Sunday night, so she was in Arithmancy Monday morning. Hermione was surprised to see her in class. "I thought you might take a few days."

"Why would I? Taking more time won't bring them back, will it?"

Hermione looked upset at Callie's cold tone, but moved on. "No, but it could help you deal with what's happened."

"What's happened is two perfectly healthy medics in their forties just dropped dead at the same time with no sign as to why and now I have to go live with my uncle who my mum despises. If that doesn't scream Dark Magic at you, then our teachers give you far too much credit."

Hermione gasped. "You don't think Draco's father-"

"It doesn't matter what I think. I'm a stupid teenage girl and it's done. They're dead. Who did it doesn't matter much, does it?"

"Callie, you're incredibly clever, so don't take this wrong, but if you don't tell Dumbledore about this, then you're mental."

"I have no evidence and I won't find any. Lucius is too careful. Besides which, my options are Malfoy Manor or a Muggle orphanage for the next four years and that's not really an option, is it?"

"Maybe you could stay at the school for Summer holidays."

"If Harry can't then I can't. He's much worse off with the Dursleys. Don't worry about me, Hermione. I'm working on a fail-safe." She said opening her book to signal the end of the conversation.

She was met with the same disbelief when she walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Calidara, you should be taking more time."

"I'm fine." She grumbled, sitting at the front table.

"I don't think you've had long enough to-"

"I said I'm fine, Professor!" She snapped. "Am I going to have to sit through this treatment in every class? One would think teachers would  _want_  one of their best students to be present in class."

Lupin looked like he'd been struck. "Of course I want you present, but I feel that-"

"Your feelings don't have any bearing here, Professor. If you'd forcibly discharge me from the room, then I'll go study with Professor Snape. If not, then believe that I am fine and let's not dwell on it." Lupin nodded, sadly, but moved onto teaching. At the end of the class, everyone filed out, but Callie stayed. "Why them?" She asked, looking at the tabletop. 

"What do you mean?"

"My parents. You said you helped my mother pick them. Why them? Knowing that they are now dead because of their connection to me-"

"You don't know that." He said, softly, but she could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

"Yes, I do." She said, coldly. "So, tell me, why them? Why did you and Miranda pick them?"

Lupin looked up at the ceiling of the classroom. "Miranda was a healer. She  _was_ , before Voldemort came to power. She wanted you to be with healers, so I found the Nefzens. Two healers who had so much love to give." He looked down, his green eyes tired and sad. "They didn't have to keep you, Callie. They could have left you with the police, but they chose you, and they loved you. I know that, if they knew it would end this way, they still would have chosen you."

Callie stood. "Well, they weren't given that option, were they? We don't know if they would've picked their lives over 12 years as my parents." 

"Yes, you do." He responded as she grabbed her books and stomped out.

She flopped into a chair in the Great Hall and ladled some stew into a bowl. "So, Father said you're going to be moving in with us." Draco said, sitting next to her.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there's enough room for me. And I won't be expecting you to keep me entertained. I'll be spending my Summer holidays pursuing Muggle sciences and preparing for the next year."

"What for? You were doing that for your Muggle parents, why keep at it now they're-"

"Now I'm doing it for their memory and because I want to, Draco. What does it matter? I won't be in your way, so don't worry about it."

"Callie! You're back, already?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, shutting off her emotional responses as she turned to George. "I thought-"

"I'd take more time? I don't need to take more time. I'd like to just go ahead and get back to focusing on school."

"Well, we're-"

"Thanks." She said, dismissively. George looked hurt, but Callie just turned back around and started to spoon stew into her mouth.

The only teacher who didn't express surprise at seeing her was Professor Snape, who handed her a to-do list and told her he'd need her that night, her emotional fragility meaning she needed extra effort in Occlumency. After class, she rushed out of the dungeons, needing fresh air and to get away from her staring schoolmates. She had just gotten comfortable in the courtyard when she heard her name from several voices, all calling out to her. Callie sighed and turned her head to see Harry, Fred and George rushing toward her. "So, we talked to Oliver and he said we could take our brooms out and practice some Quidditch with you." Fred said, happily.

Callie shook her head. "No, thank you." 

"Come on! When will you ever get to practice with a rival team?" George tried.

"I don't think I'll be on the Slytherin team much longer." 

"What? What do you mean?" Harry asked. 

Callie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and focusing on the Gryffindor boys. "I'm going to quit the team."

Fred bent down to one knee and put his hand on her knee. "You can't quit the team, it makes you happy. You have to keep doing the things that make you happy when you're mourning."

"I don't deserve to be happy." She snapped, pushing his hand off of her knee and standing.

"What do you mean? Everyone deserves to be happy." Harry argued.

She snatched her book up and looked over at them. "My parents are dead because of me. You think I can't see that they were killed because of their connection to me? You think I don't know that they'd still be alive, still be at their hospital saving other people's lives, if they'd never laid eyes upon Voldemort's daughter? I don't deserve to be happy. And I won't be. So... thank you for trying, but it's not going to work. Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself, Harry. Sirius Black would just love you to get distracted by my plight." She blinked away tears as she headed to the Slytherin Common Room. 

~~

"What do you mean, you're quitting?" Marcus Flint growled.

"I know you're not the sharpest, Marcus, but I would think it was fairly self-explanatory."

"You can't quit."

"You can't stop me."

"We're playing Gryffindor in less than a week. We don't have an alternate Beater."

"Deal with it. You don't want to play in this weather, anyway. See if Hufflepuff will change places with you."

"You think you can abandon the team just because your stupid Muggle parents-"

"Say another word, Flint, and we'll see how much like my  _father_  I can be."

Marcus Flint sneered at her, but growled out the word 'Fine' and stomped away. "Are you trying to make your Housemates hate you, again, Miss Malfoy?" Snape asked as she walked into his class for her Occlumency lessons.

"No. But I've got more important things to focus on than Quidditch. So, come on... Let's get to work." Snape was surprised at how well she was handling the Occlumency since their return. She'd effectively shut down every emotion except anger and that was exactly what was needed.

He ended the lesson showing her great approval and then, told her he'd be subbing for Professor Lupin on Thursday. He was a fine substitute, but he did move quickly past what they were supposed to be learning about (hinkypunks) and to the back of the book, where they read about werewolves. Snape gave them an assignment of a report on werewolves, how to identify them and how to kill them.

~~

Callie didn't want to go to the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor game, but she did, anyway. Of course, that was a bad idea, as a hundred dementors flooded the field halfway through the game and she went woozy. The sinking-drowning ice cold feeling took over her and then she was pulled back into what was a horrible nightmare and now her worst memory; standing in front of her parents' friends reading out a eulogy.

When she woke up, she was in the hospital wing. "She won't be happy to see you." Hermione's voice whispered. "She doesn't want anyone talk to her, anymore, you know? She hasn't been shy about that."

"You weren't there, Hermione. She's just tryin' to keep us safe." George whispered.

"She thinks we're in danger because her mum and dad were." said Fred, not bothering to whisper. "Which is stupid. Lucius Malfoy couldn't even win a fist fight against Dad, so what's he gonna do to us?"

"Lucius Malfoy isn't the only Death Eater out there." said Ron in a whisper. "She might be onto somethin'."

"Ron! We should give up bein' friends with her just because You-Know-Who's crazy followers picked off her parents?" George asked. 

"It might be safer. We already gotta worry about getting targeted by Death Eaters for being friends with Harry." Ron answered.

"Coward." The twins said.

"She's brilliant an' everything, but maybe she's right."

"Really, Ronald. She's a good person. Did you forget she helped save Ginny last year?" Hermione whispered, furiously.

"No, but maybe she's right."

"Maybe Ron is just finally showing some of that Weasley Wisdom." Callie said, sitting up.

"Callie, my pally." Fred breathed out a sigh of relief.

"How's Harry? I assume he fell off his broom when the dementors rushed the bloody field." said Callie dismissively. 

"He's still out." said Fred, looking down, sadly.

"His broom got destroyed by the Whomping Willow." Ron said.

"He can have mine." She said, quietly. "Not like I need it."

"Callie, you're showing all of the signs of depression." Hermione said, matter-of-factly. "You need your friends."

"I'm not depressed, Granger. I'm perfectly fine. And I didn't say that I was worried about _you_  lot getting attacked by Death Eaters. I  _said_ that my mum and dad are dead because of me and I didn't  _want_ to be happy." She turned her focus back to Hermione. "And I told  _you_  that I was working on a fail-safe. A safety measure for me which will not extend to those around me. Ron's got the right idea. Focus on Harry. I'll focus on me."

"Callie, you don't have to-" Fred started, but Madam Pomfrey rushed in to check on her and shooed everyone away from the bed. They moved to Harry's bed as Poppy Pomfrey handed her a large chocolate bar.

"Wonder what her fail-safe is." Hermione said, quietly from the other side of the room.

Callie bit chunks off of the bar, then lied back down to get more rest.

~~

When Madam Pomfrey finally allowed her to leave the hospital wing, it was Monday. Professor Lupin was back teaching, but Callie was still being cold to him, which he took in stride. Callie's fail-safe plan began in Herbology, when she pulled leaf off of a Mandrake plant and put it in her mouth, tucking it into the inside of her cheek. It was bitter, but she kept it there, anyway. Callie took to answering questions with one-word answers because it made it easier to keep the leaf secure in her mouth.

"Are you coming to the Manor for Christmas holidays? Father wants to know." Draco asked at the end of November, as she was almost done with the Mandrake leaf.

"No."

"You know, you'll have to come home eventually."

"Not Christmas." 

"Fine." Draco rolled his eyes as he walked away.

Callie ignored Fred staring at her from the Gryffindor table. The more she pulled away from the people around her, the more Fred looked like he wanted to talk to her, but she was helping him by keeping him at arm's length. She was helping herself by identifying a patch of grass on the far side of the Black Lake that the sun hadn't touched and no one had walked on in a week and stealing a Death's Head Hawk Moth Chrysalis from Snape's personal stores. She sneaked from her Occlumency lesson out onto the grounds. Taking out a small crystal phial from her pocket, she placed it on the ground in direct moonlight. She pulled the leaf from her cheek and pushed it into the phial, then plucked a hair from her head and added it. She pulled a bottle full of dew from the untouched patch of grass out of her robes and poured a teaspoon of it into phial. The tucked the chrysalis into the phial next and put the stopper in the top. She used a piece of Spellotape to fasten it to the underside of her bed where it would be dark and undisturbed. 

She woke the next morning at sunup and placed the tip of her wand over her heart and said the words, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus." She did the same thing at sundown and again at the next sunup. She repeated the same motions sunup and sundown for two and a half weeks, until three days before Christmas, when the school was almost deserted and a late December electrical storm hit the grounds. Callie ran for the dorms, sliding under her bed to grab the phial. The potion had turned a blood red color. She smiled, brightly, then rushed out to the courtyard and out into the Forbidden Forest. Completely soaked from snow and shivering, she placed her wand over her heart once more and said the words, "Amato Animo Animato Animagus." and drank the potion. It was just a single mouthful of red liquid, but it went down easy and then... the pace of her heart doubled up on her and her body no longer shivered, it was on fire. Burning fiery pain rushed through her body and she screamed. Falling to the snow-covered ground, she writhed in pain for a few moments before a perfectly clear picture of a Capuchin Monkey flashed in her mind and then... she was covered in fur.

She looked around, black fur covered her, all over, and she had a tail. She laughed, but it came out as a screech. She climbed the nearest tree. She was much more agile like this. As she looked out at the castle, she smiled as well as she could. This was the first thing that had gone right for her in months and now that it was done, she'd have to tell on herself. She swung from tree to tree, slipping a bit on a patch of ice on a branch, and turned back into herself by the time she hit the edge of the Forest.

She scrawled out a letter and had Athena fly it to the Ministry of Magic, before heading to the Headmaster's Office. Albus Dumbledore looked up at her from the other side of his desk and pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose. "Ah, Miss Malfoy. How are you this Christmas break?"

"Better. I mean, better now. I've been... Some might say I've gone a bit mental since my parents died but that's normal, innit? To go a bit mental in the face of disaster?"

"And how have you been going 'mental', Miss Malfoy?"

"I don't trust my uncle, you know? My mum doesn't trust him an' you don' trust him and I-I don't either and I have to live with him now, so I... I know I have to rely on myself and I... I did something that might have been a bad idea and it could have ended very poorly for me, but it's worked out all right and I felt that I should let you know, now that I've got through it okay and it seems like something that needs to be seen and I-" She sighed and focused on turning and felt her body shift and she was suddenly much smaller again.

Dumbledore gasped slightly and leaned over his desk to look down at her. "You're an animagus? You're very young to have-"

She turned back and sighed. "I needed an-an out if I could get an out and it just seemed like the very best thing to do and I already wrote the Ministry so that they can put me on the Registry and I'm so sorry because I stole a Death's Head Chrysalis and I shouldn't have tried it for a long while because it's so advanced and-"

"Tragedy and poor circumstances lead us to do dangerous things sometimes. I'm amazed that you were able to handle such an advanced transfiguration, Miss Malfoy. You truly are amazing."

"I wasn't tryin' to be amazing." She said, blushing. "I was just trying to have a fail-safe, you know?"

"I do. I will, of course, keep this a secret for you. It wouldn't do for your cousin to go off and tell his father that you turn into an adorable Capuchin whenever you want."

"So, I'm not in trouble? And you're not going to tell anybody?"

"No, Miss Malfoy, you are not in trouble and I will not be telling anyone. You did this to yourself so that you would be able to get away from a bad situation if you were put in one and, let us face the facts, you most likely will be placed in many bad situations." Callie nodded. Albus Dumbledore was an amazingly understanding man, but she guessed that comes with the wisdom of years. "You are going to need a name."

"Sir?"

"For the monkey. A name for the monkey. I have always been partial to the name 'Leelu'."

Callie chuckled. "I hadn't even thought... do animagus forms usually have other names?"

"Minerva never did, but many animagi do take an alternative name. Think about it. Don't rush into anything. Like you did with this."

Calidara full-on laughed at that. "Like you could rush the Animagus Transformation. Took almost two months for this."

"And now you have a secret weapon at your disposal." 

"Yes, sir."

"So, not Leelu?" Dumbledore said, smiling as he walked her to the entrance of his office.

"No. She doesn't feel like a Leelu to me. Maybe a Kiki."

"Oh, I do like Kiki."


	4. Birthday

Callie felt better, safer, now that she was an animagus and she smiled more often. The Weasleys noticed on Christmas dinner, as they all sat at one table. They tossed a Christmas cracker at her and she laughed as she opened it and 4 small white mice ran out of it. "First time she's laughed since Halloween." said Fred.

Dumbledore smiled as he sent a banana down the table to her. She couldn't help a smirk of her own. "What's that about, then?" Ron asked.

Callie just shook her head. "You wouldn't get it."

"So, you feelin' better?" Ron asked.

Callie nodded. "Better-ish."

"Good." Harry said, smiling.

As the conversation at the dinner table turned to Professor Lupin and his frequent illness, Callie's mind turned to the potion she had been helping Snape make and the actual frequency of them making it. Every 28 days. No wonder Snape tried to get them to write that essay on werewolves. He was trying to out Lupin. Too bad for Snape that only she and Hermione had gone through with the assignment.

After dinner, Callie went to Snape's office. "Happy Christmas, Professor." Snape looked up from the book he was reading as she placed a small box on his desk. "It's just chocolate, got it in Hogsmeade last week. Was gonna get you a hand in a jar, but you've already got a few of those." She said, pointing at a few of the jars lining the walls.

Snape looked at the box like he didn't know what to do with it for a moment before sliding it closer to him and giving a small smile. "Thank you, Miss Malfoy."

She leaned against the cold fireplace and bit her lip. "So, I've been reading up on dementors. They hit me fairly hard and I wanted to know why they affect me and Harry so much-"

"Because you're thirteen years old and you've both had some terrible things happen to you. Dementors drag you down into the absolute worst parts of your past."

"And the future, in my case." Snape looked at her with surprise, leaning back so that he could examine her. "First time the dementors got me, I was dragged down into a vision of me at my parents' funeral. Problem is, that was September and they didn't die until the end of October. Trelawney thinks I'm a seer. I don't know really, but I saw..." She cleared her throat.

"Anyway, I've been looking into dementors-" She started again, taking a deep breath. "Do you know how to perform the Patronus Charm?"

"Yes, but it's exceedingly difficult, Miss Malfoy."

"When has that ever been a problem for me, Professor Snape?" She snapped. "I am the one who balances being your assistant with everything else in my life. I am the one who made it to the final chamber holding the Philosopher's Stone and made it into the Chamber of Secrets. I'm the one who's finally getting Occlumency down after two and a half bloody years. I'm not afraid of difficult. If you knew what I'd been getting up to over the past 6 weeks, you'd know that." 

She took a deep breath. "Can we take a break from Occlumency lessons so that you can teach me how to keep those bloody dementors out of my head?" Snape sneered at her for a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Professor."

~~

"You need to think of a happy memory." Snape said, at the first of their Patronus lessons, on the first Monday of January.

"What?"

"A happy memory. You had a good life before your parents died. I assume you have good memories."

"What is this? The flight to Neverland?"

"A happy memory. One... happy... memory. The strongest you have."

Callie sighed, and thought through her memories. She decided on her tenth birthday. It was unseasonably warm for mid-March, so her parents had gotten on a train with her and taken her to the coast. They'd spent her birthday picnicking on the cliffs. "Okay. I've got it."

"Now, concentrate on that memory and say ' _Expecto Patronum_ '." Snape instructed. 

She nodded and did as she was told. As she said the words, a silvery mist shot out of the end of her wand. "I did it!"

"No, you've not done it. This is step one." He pointed his wand at a trunk near his fireplace. "There's a boggart in that trunk. You will need to focus on your fear of the dementor before returning to your happy memory and saying the charm."

Callie nodded. The trunk popped open and the boggart flew out as a dementor. The cold mist swirled around her, but she pointed her wand at it as her lungs started to freeze and thought about the birthday on the coast. " _Expecto Patronum!_ " The silver cloud spit forth from her wand and pushed the dementor/boggart back. Snape looked mildly impressed as he pushed the boggart back into the trunk. 

"You did well. It won't take you very long to produce a full-bodied Patronus." 

"What's that?"

"The Patronus, that silver cloud, which represents all of your happiness, your hopes, your loves, forms into an an animal. It's very powerful against dementors, quite literally fights them back away from you."

"And I will be able to do that eventually?"

"Yes. Quite soon, actually. Faster if you can think of a stronger memory."

~~

Callie spent the next few months excelling at Occlumency and the Patronus Charm. She spent her weekends sneaking out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest, where she'd change form into Kiki and climb high into the trees. It was the absolute most fun thing in her life. She ignored her cousin and classmates, she gave friendly nods to the Gryffindors and she'd stopped being cold to Professor Lupin, but she was still keeping everyone at arm's length. It was better for everyone that way.

"Father says that since your birthday is Friday, you and I need to come home this weekend so that we can all celebrate." Draco said to her on March 7.

"I take by your tone that I don't have a choice in the matter?" She asked, looking up at her cousin, lazily.

"I know you think I'm nasty, but... Professor Snape is nasty, too, and you spend all your time with him. Besides, you should get used to the Manor before you move in over Summer holidays. And you haven't met my mum. She's brilliant."

She sighed, thinking of her lost Kiki time, but she nodded. "Fine. I will come home for the weekend with you."

"Good. Mother and Father will pick us up on Friday evening." Draco said, walking away.

"Happy birthday, Callie." She whispered to herself.

~~

Her birthday had been completely ignored over the previous years at Hogwarts. She hadn't gotten any gifts, her parents choosing to wait until she was home to celebrate. Her fourteenth birthday was met with small gifts from Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Harry. Potions was the only class that day and surprisingly, the man wished her a happy birthday. After class and after lunch, Callie and Draco climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express and headed for London.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy met them at King's Cross Station. Narcissa was a tall, pale blonde woman with blue eyes and bright red lipstick on her lips. She smiled and turned to Lucius as Callie stepped off of the train. "She looks just like Miranda, doesn't she, Lucius?"

"Well, pale and blonde, I'm sure most Malfoys have the same aesthetic." Callie responded, before offering her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Aunt Narcissa."

"Happy birthday, Melanie." Lucius said, smiling.

"It's- Never mind." Callie said. 

"Our house elves have made a feast for your birthday." Narcissa said, putting a hand on her back and leading her away. 

"That's really not necessary."

"Nonsense! This is your first birthday as a true Malfoy!" Lucius responded. "And Draco's told us that you're fairly good on a broom. We'll be traveling to the manor by portkey, but you might like to fly around the grounds."

"No, actually. I, uh, gave my broom to Harry Potter." Draco rolled his eyes, but the adults turned to her with confusion. "His got bashed up by the Whomping Willow. He said he'll probably give it back once his Firebolt gets out of being checked for hexes."

"We'll get you a better broom. We'll get you your own Firebolt." Narcissa said, smiling.

"No, that's not- I'm not even on the Quidditch team, anymore."

"'cause she quit. Spends all her time alone or with Professor Snape these days."

"Draco, dear, please don't act this way. Melanie is our guest and she's our family. Let's give her some space, please." Narcissa almost begged.

_*At least **she's** not evil.* _Callie thought. 

She was uncomfortable in the giant house. She hadn't grown up poor, by any means, but Malfoy Manor was dark and cold and  _huge_ and there really wasn't much reason for it. They'd celebrated her birthday with a feast and a large cake, and then Narcissa had taken Callie to her bedroom. It was huge, too. The bed was queen sized, the wardrobe bigger than she'd ever need. A vanity with a large ornate mirror was sitting below a window. It was drafty and impersonal, but she smiled at Narcissa and thanked her. 

As soon as her aunt left the room, she turned into Kiki and went exploring through the vents of the Manor. "She's exactly like Miranda." Lucius' voice carried to her monkey ears and she followed the sound. "She thinks she's something special because she doesn't care about blood status."

"It's those Muggles Miranda put her with. They poisoned her mind, but we've got her now. We can fix it. She's only fourteen, Lucius. We've got plenty of time to fix it."

Kiki's brown eyes rolled as she moved through the vents back to her bedroom, with the idea of exploring more the next day. She changed back into Calidara as she dropped onto the bed. The next day, Lucius disapparated early in the day and Callie asked to be left alone to do her weekend homework. Draco was more than happy to let her be alone in her room while he ran and flew around the grounds. She turned into Kiki and rushed through the vents. It wasn't hard to find Draco's room. It was full of toys and games and a million things that he probably hadn't touched in years. She dropped to his desk and looked around at his papers. Most of them seemed to be from Lucius. She turned back into herself and went through them. The first was dated two years before and basically broke down to 'Your cousin is more important than you. More important than you could understand. Make friends with her.' The next was a letter demanding that Draco tone down his anti-Muggle sentiments until Melanie had been convinced of their obvious superiority. 

As she read through more letters, each demanding that Draco do whatever necessary to 'Bring Melanie home', she felt she could almost read her uncle's desperation in the words. He was absolutely determined to get her away from 'those disgusting Muggles'. She knew, reading those words, that her suspicion about her parents' deaths was right, that Lucius had killed them or had them killed. She stacked the letters back on the desk and left the room, happy for her fail-safe. 


	5. Black

On Monday, they were back at Hogwarts. Monday night, before her Occlumency/Patronus lesson, she turned into Kiki and went climbing in the trees along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. As she climbed, she noticed a huge dog with shaggy black fur walking through the trees. It just seemed to move wrong. Kiki followed the dog further into the woods, swinging from the low branches. It was simple curiosity that drove her, but as he turned from from a shaggy dog into a shaggy human, fear flooded her. As he reached up into the low branch of the tree and grabbed at Kiki's tail, she jumped to the ground and turned back into Callie. She looked up at the black-haired man with the crazy eyes and yellowed teeth, and she recognized him immediately from the wanted posters. "Bloody hell. You're Sirius Black!"

"You're an animagus. You're young, young for an animagus. What are you, twelve?"

She scrambled backwards ignoring his question. "You can't kill me. I'm Voldemort's daughter. If you kill me, your master'll be-"

"I'm not a Death Eater!" He shouted, before adding under his breath, "Miranda's daughter. Poor, poor Melanie."

"Yeah, tell that to Peter Pettigrew."

"Peter! Peter was the Secret-Keeper. Peter, always a rat!"

"What? No, Harry said-"

"Harry's father was my  _best_  friend. James-James wanted me for secrets but I said Peter, so weak and squish, Voldemort would never guess him, but he was already a rat, see? Should've seen. Should've known." Sirius ran his hand across his dirty forehead. "Your mother knew, never liked Peter. 'He's a rat inside' she said, an' she was right. She didn't trust him, 'specially when she got back. Only trusted Remus. You!"

Callie gasped as he rushed at her, grabbing her green tie. "You're friends with Harry Potter." She opened her mouth to argue that she wasn't really friends with anyone lately, but she just nodded. "Good. Good. Harry Potter needs clever friends."

"Wait!" Callie took a step back, pulling her tie from the man's hand. "Peter Pettigrew was the Death Eater. So, you were an innocent... you were an innocent man, grieving the deaths of two of your best friends, framed for their murders and sent to the worst possible place on Earth?"

"Clever, clever. Just like Miranda. Clever, clever."

"You lost your mind a bit at Azkaban, didn't you?"

He sobered, slightly, and nodded. "Less than others. Solitary life was the worst. Focused on Harry. Focused on revenge. Started to spend my time as Snuffles. Dementors don't affect animals the same."

"Of course! That's how I can get past them as Kiki! I always pass out if I'm  _me_." She bit her lip and looked up into his grey-blue eyes. "Harry thinks you're a betrayer, a murderer. I have to tell him-"

"He won't believe you. No one believed me. You-you're one of the first to-to hear me, because you're like your mother; good judge of character. Should've tossed Peter out of the Order when she said. She said! And then Lucius took her and Voldemort-"

"I know. I know what they did to her. I know why she's in Azkaban." Callie looked down.

"You're worried about her." He smiled softly, his yellowed teeth barely showing.

"My mum's not an animagus, is she? So, she's got no reprieve from the dementors. I can only imagine what they've had her reliving for the past twelve years."

"You don't know her. She made sure of that." Sirius put his hand on her shoulder. "She didn't want anyone to know her. I think she got herself sent to Azkaban on purpose."

"Why in the world would she do that?"

"A good, clever, powerful, good, beautiful,  _good_ witch was subjected to horrors, made to do terrible things for months. I think she felt like Voldemort had already killed her, so she might as well let the dementors have her."

"You think she gave up? You think she-"

"-held herself together just long enough to get you to safety, then attacked her brother in front of the entire Wizengamot? Yes. She could have attacked Lucius anywhere else and she would have gotten away with it, but she chose to attack him in the one place where the High Court would have no other choice but to send her to Azkaban. She wanted it, felt she deserved-"

"That's dumb." Callie interrupted.

"That's how some people deal with tragedy."

"That's not dealing with it! That's wallowing. That's running away where no one can ever help you. That doesn't sound like the woman Professor Lupin described."

"Poor Remus was blinded by his love for her, couldn't see that she came back broken. He was just so happy to have her back, he couldn't see."

"Were they in love?" Callie asked. She'd thought they might be, but Lupin had never said.

"Yes." Sirius nodded. "Yes, they were, until-"

"Me. Right."

"No, not you. Voldemort. Nothing that has happened, to  _anyone_ , is your fault, Melanie." It was the first time she'd been called that where it didn't feel wrong.

"Wha-what are you doing here, Mr. Black? Why are you at Hogwarts if you aren't trying to kill Harry? This is the absolute last place I'd want to be if the dementors were after me. There's hundreds of them here."

"Peter's here. Living as a rat."

"He's an animagus, too?"

Sirius nodded. "Fat grey rat. There's a cat 'round here helping me find him."

"Scabbers! Ron's stupid, ugly old rat!" 

"Exactly. You've seen him?" 

"Yeah. Except he's dead. That's what Ron was complaining about for... he's faked his death, hasn't he? Hermione's cat didn't eat him, did he?"

"No. The Weasley boy kept Peter very safe, but he's run, now. Worked once, faking his death." 

Callie sighed. "Look, Harry's my friend. It hasn't always been easy, me being a Slytherin and he did think I was evil after he found out who my father is... It's weird,  _all_ of my friends are Gryffindors." She shook her head at herself before continuing. "If the man responsible for Harry being an orphan has been in that school, within arms reach of Harry, living with and spying on the Weasley Family, who are good and amazing wizards... How can I help you?"

Sirius gave a few soft, amazed exhalations before scratching at his neck. "I need into the Gryffindor Common Room. Have to check for signs, where Peter went."

"I don't have the passwords. I'm not a Gryffindor. I could get you into the dungeons but that's it."

Sirius Black smiled. " _You_ can't, but what about your other form? Done much climbing on the outside of the castle?"

"No. Only in the Forest. I've been too nervous to change where someone might see me."

"Then change in the Forest. I always do. I can point you to the right window, you can climb on up and look for a way to help me in." Callie bit her lip, then nodded. "You know, your mother would have put up a bit more of a fight, I think, before agreeing to break into Gryffindor Tower."

"Yeah, well... I'm not my mother... and I-I  _know_ this is the right thing to do." She chuckled. "Besides, I've always kinda wondered what the Gryffindor dorms look like."

Sirius pointed her to the third window from the left on Gryffindor Tower and she shifted down into Kiki. Her small, agile fingers gripping at the stones of the castle and pulling herself quickly up the wall. She pulled the window open and slid in. She looked around the room. The room was lighter, natural moonlight shining across the Third Year boys dorm room. Neville Longbottom was already asleep in his bed, but the rest of the boys were obviously still down in the common room. She looked around the room for signs of Scabbers, but she didn't know what she was looking for. What she did find, however, was a list on Neville's bedside table with 'passwords' across the top. She felt a bit guilty taking the list, knowing that it would likely get Neville in trouble, but Sirius Black needed to get into this room. He needed to find Peter Pettigrew. 

It occurred to Callie as she climbed down the castle wall with the list in between her teeth that she hadn't asked what Sirius was gonna do to Peter once he'd found him and she found that she really just  _didn't care_. "Poor, nervous Neville wrote down all the passwords." She said, handing the list to Sirius.

Sirius looked down at the paper. "Melanie, you are a blessing."

"Thank you. It's nice to be appreciated." She looked around, nervously. "If you get caught-"

"You had nothing to do with it." Sirius finished, smiling.

"Not that I think there's something really wrong with what I just did, except Neville's gonna get in trouble for losing the passwords, but... I've got enough issues with people trusting me without being attached to your false image."

Sirius nodded. "I completely understand."

Callie looked at her pocket watch. "Shit! I'm late! I've got a tutoring session with my Potions Master and I've never been late for one! Good luck, Mr. Black!" She called, turning back into Kiki so that she could get through the Forest and back to the castle as fast as possible. 

"You're late, Miss Malfoy." Snape said as she walked into his office at 9:45.

"I'm so sorry, Professor, I was in the library doing my History of Magic essay on-"

"I would think you would pay more attention to-"

"I said I was sorry, Professor. It's not like it's ever happened before, in  _three_   _years_!"

"Watch your tone with me, Miss Malfoy."

Callie looked down. She wanted to snap back at him, but she just shook her head. She'd made great strides under his tutelage and she wasn't about to hurt that relationship. "Sorry, Professor."

~~

Callie didn't see Sirius again, though she did hear that he'd made it into the Gryffindor dorms and had scared the heck out of Ron, who woke to him standing over him. Neville did, indeed, get in trouble for losing the passwords and Callie felt bad about that, but she knew that it was important. 

Several weeks later, Gryffindor played against Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup, where Slytherin cheated and Gryffindor gained almost 50 just in penalty points based on that. Gryffindor won, for the first time since Charlie Weasley was Seeker. Callie kept her eyes out for Sirius, but didn't see him, even during her weekends swinging through the trees. 

It was mid-June when she heard that Severus Snape had caught Sirius Black. Ron, Harry and Hermione were in the hospital wing and Sirius was locked up somewhere upstairs. Callie followed Dumbledore up to Filius Flitwick's office on the seventh floor and watched as Sirius spoke to him. As soon as Dumbledore walked away from the locked office, Callie jumped out of the nearest window and climbed over to Flitwick's window. As small as she was in monkey form, she could still tell the window was small. Sirius ran to the window. It was locked, so she switched form back to Callie, holding onto the window ledge with her left hand, digging her shoes into the castle wall as she pulled her wand out and called ' _Alohamora!_ '. The window sprang open and she pulled herself up onto the ledge. 

"Melanie, what in the world are you doing here?"

"What happened? Did you find Peter Pettigrew? What happened with Harry and his friends?"

"You can't be here. They're going bring the dementors to give me the Dementor's Kiss."

"Worse to worst, I'll turn into Kiki and hide. Mr. Black, please. What happened?" 

"He escaped. I finally got him and he escaped! He used Remus as a-" Sirius sighed. "He got away, but Harry believes me. Harry knows that I'm... I'm not the one who betrayed James. I'll go to my end knowing that my godson didn't hate me after everything." 

"Maybe Headmaster can help! I... I can't imagine you having your soul sucked out. Not now, not when so many people know you didn't- I mean, me, Harry, Hermione, Ron..."

"Remus, as well, but he won't be much help."

"It's his moon, isn't it? Bloody Hell. I'll talk to Dumbledore, he's got to be able to see reason."

"No. If you talk to Dumbledore, you'll have to explain that you were in league with me. I've told no one of the help you provided. You won't either."

"There's got to be something... you were friends with my mum. You were friends with Harry's dad. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I did plenty wrong. Haven't exactly acted like an innocent man since my escape. But people know the truth... you and Remus, Harry and his friends, you all know the truth about Wormtail."

"But that's not much help if  _you're_ dead! You're an innocent man and you've already spent so many years in Azkaban for something you didn't do and now you're tellin' me that there's nothing I can do to stop you having your soul sucked out? That's not fair!" 

_"Life, you'll find, is seldom fair."_ Dumbledore's words from her first year at Hogwarts echoed in her head.

"Melanie, I know, but you must not worry. Take care of yourself. Promise." He demanded. She looked down. That was a hard promise. She was prone to putting herself in bad situations. "Promise me, Melanie."

"I promise I will take care of myself, Mr. Black."

"Good. Now, get out of here." Callie nodded and turned back into Kiki, jumping and swinging out of the window. She climbed up and was just grabbing onto the window on the eighth floor when a hippogriff flew up to the window. Callie watched from the window ledge above as Harry and Hermione, on the back of the hippogriff (which must have been the doomed Buckbeak), opened Flitwick's window and beckoned Sirius out. As soon as he was on Buckbeak's back, they took off to the top of the tower. She smiled as she watched the hippogriff fly off into the moonlight with Black on its back. Harry and Hermione had saved Sirius  _and_ the hippogriff.


	6. The End

The next morning, Snape was in the absolute worst mood Callie had ever seen him in. With Black escaping, which he was certain Harry and Hermione had something to do with, he had lost the opportunity of being awarded for his help catching the murderer, and he took it out on Remus Lupin, whom he finally 'let slip' was a werewolf. Callie met him on his way to the gates, grabbing the grindylow tank from his arms and carrying it across the courtyard. "Why aren't you in Hogsmeade with the other students, Callie? You should be celebrating the end of exams and-"

"I'm sorry that Professor Snape told everyone you're a lycanthrope. It's completely unfair. I would have liked to-to have you as our Defense teacher next year. You're the best we've ever had."

Lupin smiled, slightly. "I appreciate the sentiment, Calidara, but... I could have hurt someone last night. I could have hurt you or Harry or any of the other students or teachers. There is a reason why-"

"If Snape had brought you your Wolfsbane Potion on  _time_ , you wouldn't have been a danger." 

Lupin turned to her as he came to the carriage. She put the grindylow tank on the back of the carriage. "You knew, didn't you? You've been helping Severus with my potion every month."

"I knew about Christmas-time. I knew it wasn't your fault, so... never said anything. Figure, if my mum didn't care that you're a werewolf, why should I?"

Lupin smiled, sadly. "You're just like her. Clever and tolerant."

"Sirius said the same."

Lupin looked shocked. "When did you-"

"A bit before Easter."

"And you didn't tell anybody?"

"Who would've believed me? It's a problem of my life. Dumbledore told me once that trust will be hard-won in my life. It's not just that I'm a fourteen year old girl. People automatically distrust me because of who my father is. Voldemort's daughter and the murderer, Sirius Black, meeting by chance in the Forbidden Forest? No one would believe that and no one would believe me saying he was innocent or that Scabbers was a bloody animagus form of a dead man."

Remus Lupin shook his head in amazement. "You are so like Miranda, such a good judge of character."

"I helped him trying to get at Scabbers. I think he was going to kill him... I was gonna let him."

"As was I." 

Callie looked down. "I'm really glad he escaped."

"As am I."

"I wish..." Callie looked up. "I wish you weren't leaving. I really liked hearing about my mum from you and-and from Sirius. He, uh, he said that you and my mum were-"

"She was everything to me." He answered, looking out at the castle.

"You never told me. I mean, if my mum hadn't been sent away-"

"I would have married her." Lupin chuckled. "But she got herself sent away from me... and you."

Callie nodded, sadly. "Where will you go?"

"Don't worry about that. You'll be just fine and so will I." He placed a hand on her arm and nodded. "You're very clever and have amazing friends. You don't need anything more than that."

"Promise me that you'll take care of yourself, Professor."

"I promise." He winked at her, then climbed into the carriage. "Keep yourself safe, as well, Callie. Keep a bit of warmth in your heart while you spend your Summers at Malfoy Manor."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm certain we will see each other again, Callie." He said as the skeletal horse creature took off. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Professor Lupin." Callie turned and walked back across the courtyard, stopping as she walked past the lake where Hermione and Ron were relaxing. 

Hermione turned her head to look at Callie. "I saw you escort Professor Lupin to the gates. I didn't realize you were so close to him."

"He was almost my step-father."

"Really?" Ron exclaimed. "How do you know? Thought he wouldn't tell you-"

"Oh... a, uh, a big dog told me."

Hermione and Ron both straightened at that. "What?"

"What?" Callie responded, with a smile. "Werewolves are like big dogs, right? Anyway, you lot enjoy the lake."

She ran into Harry walking out of the castle. "Oh, hey, Callie."

"I just want you to know that I think you're brilliant, Harry. No one else would've been able to pull that off." She whispered.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Harry asked. "You aren't on about what Snape was-"

"No proof means no punishment, but gee, it's  _lucky_ that Sirius and Buckbeak both escaped. Someone might think Buckbeak helped Sirius escape, but he couldn't have done that alone." Harry's eyes widened and Callie chuckled. "I don't know how you did it. How you were in two places at once, but... it was brilliant."

"How..."

"Scabbers was much too old to be a real rat. So, if that was true, then the rest probably was, too, right? And it's a good thing that Sirius wasn't given the Dementor's Kiss, because that would've been a fate worse than death for an innocent man."

Harry laughed. "You're the brilliant one! How did you figure all that out?"

"Trelawney thinks I'm a true seer. Don't know about all that. But what I do know is you ought to watch your back against Professor Snape. He's right outraged about Sirius escaping, about Lupin helping him, about you and Hermione and Ron..."

"I think you should be more worried, you've got to spend the next two months with Lucius and Draco Malfoy."

Callie looked down. She'd been trying to ignore that. "Don't worry 'bout me. I've got that fail-safe." She looked back up and smiled. "Just think of it like this, Harry. Four more years and we're gone. No nasty uncles to hold us back or treat us poorly. No one to make us feel bad. It'll be Heaven."

"That's a great way to look at it." Harry smiled as she walked away.

~~

Two days later, she was on the Hogwarts Express, heading to London where she'd touch a hat which was a portkey that would take her to Wiltshire to Malfoy Manor, which would never be her home. She was not looking forward to the Summer, just hoping to hang on long enough to make it to that moment of her being 17 when she'd be able to go home to the townhouse.


End file.
